Join FIU film studies director Andrew Strycharski at Miami Beach Cinematheque tonight (11/14) at 7:00 PM for a screening of the classic film noir The Killers (1946). Andrew Strycharski’s introductory comments will focus on film noir story structure, the shock of the present and piecing together the past, and the experience of European (and especially Jewish) immigrants and exiles in the aftermath of World War II.

As Netflix tries to climb its way into the world of film legitimacy through theatrically-released Netflix originals, fans rush to defend the quality of the company’s works as on-par with other production companies. While Netflix has produced a handful of great shows and movies, like any new production company, they have a hefty number of unwatchable disappointments, and still have to prove themselves to go toe to toe with their larger competitors. In releasing David Mackenzie’s Outlaw King (2018), though this film is more watchable than most Netflix originals, the experience isn’t worth getting off the couch and buying a ticket at the theater.

Dr. Michael Gillespie of FIU’s English department, who is currently teaching a film noir course, describes it as a genre “that gives examples of individuals who succeed in resisting dominant authority and provides viewers with an example of someone who sustains his or her integrity.” In other words they are movies about rebels. Selfish, sexy people working for their own gain, these are slick talking, criminally clever characters who never fail to impress.

Of special note are two sections of Studies in the Film (ENG 4132). Igor Shteyrenberg (Executive Director of the Miami Jewish Film Festival and Co-director of the Popcorn Frights Festival) will reprise his course in the art of cinematography and the poetics of visual style. Students who took the course with professor Shteyrenberg still haven’t stopped talking about what a transformative experience it was. Running on Monday afternoons at the BBC, the course is a gem for students Continue reading Spring Registration is Here→

Whenever a remake of a classic film is announced, fans have reason to be skeptical. Though there’s been great remakes in the past, it’s hard to trust a film one loves in the hands of someone new. Having previously reviewed Dario Argento’s Suspiria (1977), I can say that though Luca Guadagnino’s Suspiria (2018) literally drains the color that made Argento’s original film iconic, this remake provides an interesting and different experience from its source material which is produced well enough to warrant intrigue.

In our most recent poll, we asked you which Horror movie remake is the ghastliest revival of its original. While each contender had the misfortune of being brought back to life, three stood out as the gravest of them all.

According to your votes, these shaky horror remakes are so shameful they make Frankenstein’s monster look lively.

When it was announced we’d receive a new entry in the Halloween franchise on behalf of Blumhouse Productions, I was highly skeptical. While many were excited, knowing that Blumhouse is responsible for the phenomenal films Split (2016) and Get Out (2017), I was too aware they were equally responsible for movies of pitiful quality such as Sinister (2012), Unfriended (2015), and Truth or Dare (2018). Being a massive fan of John Carpenter’s Halloween (1978), I entered the screening of the latest Halloween film with low expectations. Leaving the theater, I was both impressed by the quality of the latest in a long line of sequels, and equally feeling the sting of knowing how close Blumhouse’s Halloween (2018) came to matching if not surpassing the quality of the original film.